'For it is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not sufficient to exhibit the true; it is also necessary to expose and denounce the false.'

I am a grad student in mechanical engineering at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. One of the people I share an office with is a PHD student from Germany. We often have discussions on a variety of issues you guys cover from week to week, and one day this led to the topic of fasting. My officemate claims that fasting is a worth while endeavour and he himself does it for health purposes. I went on webmd for some quick info on the practice and found the following claims/ controversies about fasting. 1) That it can help with weight loss 2) that it can cleanse the body of 'toxins' 3) it can cure certain diseases 4) you fast every night and are told to before surgery therefore) the ol' people have been doing it for thousands of years so it must be good 6) it can help you live longer.

from my readings it seemed that weight loss with fasting is short term only. I was hoping you guys could discuss some of the other claims. I have been listening for about 8 months now and really enjoy the show.

'For it is the natural tendency of the ignorant to believe what is not true. In order to overcome that tendency it is not sufficient to exhibit the true; it is also necessary to expose and denounce the false.'- HL Menken.

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